Well, you just don't see this every day.

I know I don't.

So what do you do when your shower tiles are coming loose and water is leaking behind?

How about some vinyl wallpaper?

It's waterproof, stylish and easy to install.

And, let the decorator in you come out!  Pick something that compliments the personality of your home, or what's on sale at the local discount store.  And add a splash of color! 

You can't go wrong with lavender.

These shower tiles are literally held in place by that wallpaper!  There are spots where they are loose and if you push on them they crunch.

What you cannot see in this photo is the steady stream of water coming out of that designer shower head. And it's splattering all over the hardwood flooring.

This is a bathroom created out of what I think used to be a laundry room.  It's so hard to tell these days where things used to be in relation to what is there now.

People are getting so creative.  It's really hard to tell.

To top it off, this "bathroom" did not have a vent fan. 

I cringe to think what is going on inside the walls.  The corner to the left of this photo abuts a "bedroom" behind (I say bedroom because the wall between it and the family room is a vertical mattress and a curtain which, lately, seems to define a bedroom).  The one real wall of that bedroom is demonstrating a growth that looks suspiciously like black mold, possibly stachybotrous.  That was hard to tell too - there were so many different black colors.  And a LOT of growth.

My recommendation:  When you see something you don't see every day, stop, enjoy the moment, and relish the idea that your horizon may have been expanded.  But don't smell the roses too much - there may be mold in the air.

Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC  

Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia

www.jaymarinspect.com


 
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16 Comments on A Decorator's Touch

NOV
29
2009
627,805 Points 1 Featured Post Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

Jay, this is very interesting. I'm surprised the residents have gotten so creative at the expense of their own health.  I bet you could tell something was wrong the minute you walked inside their home and smelled the quaility of the air inside.

4:58am • #1

Well Jay, I would have to agree with Barbara, "That's very interesting...") It amazes me how some people can live inside certain homes.  

5:19am • #2
973,624 Points 349 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Barbara - yes, as soon as you walk in you know something is in the air.  And it isn't love.  I grew up in Kensington and still get over there every chance I can to have a sub at Continental Pizza on Conn Ave.

Eric - there will be more posts about this interesting installation!

5:23am • #3
973,624 Points 349 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Thank you Susan.  Wait til the next one regarding this interesting shower...

6:11am • #5
567,535 Points 140 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Your recommendation is perfect. We must savor those; What were they thinking moments. They are indeed priceless.

7:17am • #6
916,623 Points 178 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Jay, they must have learned this in "Advanced Contact Paper 401"

10:30am • #7
973,624 Points 349 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

James - my horizons are expanded nearly every day too!

Charlie - that stuff was stuck on there pretty well.  How often do you see that?

3:15pm • #8
916,623 Points 178 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Jay, I have seen all kinds of patches----including a sheet of corrugated sheet metal and garbage bags with duct tape----never contact paper though:)

5:06pm • #9
973,624 Points 349 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Charlie - garbage bags and sheet metal I have seen.  The one was very temporary and the other ostensibly permanent.  This, I think, was wallpaper, though it may have been contact paper.  It was as wide as the wall you see there.  There was another sheet on the wall opposite the shower "head" (that looks like what I used to use for showers in South America, when we had accommodations, so to speak).  I will post something tomorrow that shows the other wall and damage from the shower curtain.  Just a mess all around, which you notice immediately upon entering the house...

5:19pm • #10
1,150,546 Points 53 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Jay,

I have seen showers where the shower head is blasting on sheet rock, nothing else. That is nutso.

6:34pm • #11
973,624 Points 349 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

It is Steve, it is.  Unless it's green board...    ;)

6:47pm • #12
NOV
30
2009
3 Featured Posts

Jay,

Great post as always. I learn a great deal from you guys...mostly to say,"I am NOT a home inspector..." I really enjoy your posts.

 

7:13am • #13
973,624 Points 349 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Thank you Bill, as always.  Some home inspector posts may seem comical, but for the most part some things are really sad.

8:03am • #14
DEC
03
2009
1 Featured Post

Wow! I can't believe anyone would even manufacture that print let alone buy it.

7:25pm • #15
973,624 Points 349 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

What was prettier was what was behind the wall Vince.  Many colors, hairy, puffy, um, moooldy.

7:32pm • #16

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Jay Markanich - N. Virginia Home Inspector

Bristow, VA

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Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC

Address: 12315 Sherborne Street, Bristow, VA, 20136

Office Phone: (703) 330-6388

Cell Phone: (703) 585-7560

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An experienced home inspector's look at current home inspection events and conditions along with his useful recommendations.


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